


oh captain, my captain

by skyblxssom



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Schwann's Tired but his knights love and appreciate him, Tales of Vesperia Spoilers, ride and die for that Captain yes sir, so it's just a mix of silliness and fluffiness among Schwann and his brigade, very very self indulgent fic cause I love this brigade and their captain Very Much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyblxssom/pseuds/skyblxssom
Summary: The Schwann Brigade is filled with an… interesting cast of characters to say the least. They were chosen specifically so that they won't question Alexei's authority but even then, no one had predicted the sort of loyalty that they have for their stoic Captain.Also known as the brigade that shares a single brain cell and it's exchanged between Schwann and Leblanc. Spirits help them all.(Marked as complete but would probably add more chapters in the future).
Relationships: Schwann Oltorain & Lieutenant Leblanc, Schwann Oltorain & The Schwann Brigade
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	oh captain, my captain

**Author's Note:**

> So talking with some great friends about our collective love of Schwann and his brigade somehow spawned this fic. I just want Schwann and his brigade shenanigans, where they absolutely adore their Captain and would show it whenever they had the opportunity to. Just know that the general concept for this chapter and probable subsequent chapters goes something like:
> 
> Schwann: exists  
> His brigade: WE LOVE CAPTAIN AND WE WILL SHOWER HIM WITH OUR LOVE AND APPRECIATION!!!
> 
> This is a very self indulgent fic filled with headcanons and OCs to show my love for this tired Captain. Also imagine this is a slight au where Alexei is too busy scheming to care about the sort of shenanigans the Schwann brigade gets up to.
> 
> Hopefully you'll enjoy this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Now Schwann thought that today would be an uneventful one. His initial plans consisted of going through his stack of paperwork, grab some lunch at the mess hall as opposed to having it delivered to his office, perhaps go for a few rounds of friendly spars with any knight eager to face him and then end the day with some light reading and a mug of tea to nurse over. 

But then he made the mistake of checking today’s date. 

Schwann stared at the innocent numbers that informed him of the day and month. No matter how much he blinked, the date stayed the same. It took an embarrassing few seconds for him to snap out of it, mind immediately kicked into overdrive.

What was supposed to be an uneventful day morphed into one that came straight from his nightmares. Schwann didn’t waste time in coming to a decision. If he wanted to make it through today unscathed, then he couldn’t stay in one spot for long. His private chambers, often a room where he could shed off his armor and relax after a hard day’s work offered no safe refuge as he had learned from past experience. His office even more so since that was considered a semi public space where people can come in at any time. 

So he simply had to keep moving. Fortunately, his status position meant that it wouldn’t raise suspicions if he was found wandering through the castle grounds. Obviously he had important business to attend to if the ever elusive Captain of the Schwann brigade meandered through the castle’s many hallways. Yes, he thought with a fervent nod, that was a viable plan.

Schwann needed to move now while there were fewer chances of stumbling across people. Dressed in his uniform sans the restrictive armor, he quietly slipped out of his room after making a quick sweep of the hallway. Thankfully, he had insisted on the guards usually stationed in front of his private chambers to leave early last night, as if he anticipated that today’s survival banked on him avoiding interactions.

Still, the universe always seemed to have it out for him, for things often happened for the sole sake of making his life harder.

“Good morning Captain Schwann!” Leblanc’s booming voice greeted him. Any lesser person would have jumped at the sudden volume but because he was a distinguished Captain, Schwann simply jerked back, appearing to the world like a startled cat. 

“Quiet down Leblanc!” he hissed out, tone sharper than he liked. 

“I-I apologize sir.” The flustered reply was at least a decibel lower. Leblanc’s nervous expression chased away his mild irritation, a soft sigh escaping his lips. Despite his reservations for the day, Schwann shouldn’t take it out on the poor man. 

“Be at ease. I simply did not wish to have my presence alerted this morning.” Or all day, ideally. “Today is… going to be a hectic one, to say the least.”

“Oh? Had the commandant added to your workload, sir?”

When did he ever lighten his workload? Schwann grumbled internally before shaking his head. He supposed that out of everyone within his brigade, Leblanc would be the most understanding of his… predicament, having been one of the few who were privy to the aftermath last year.

“Nothing like that. It is simply… the nature of today and all that it entails.”

“The nature of today and all that it entails?” Leblanc parroted uselessly. “I don't quite understand, sir. Is not today another Monday?”

Schwann resisted the urge to roll his eyes. For all that Leblanc was good at following his orders, the man was slow on the uptake. “It is not another Monday, unfortunately.” Now he could just say what day it was but the idea of uttering the vile name and everything that encompassed it made his skin crawl. “Surely you would have noticed any… oddities in the past few days? Maybe even yesterday?”

“I… can’t say that I had, sir.” Leblanc’s expression fell. “I apologize for being unobservant if you had noticed something amiss.”

That was so not the point. Schwann wanted to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Surely you love your wife, Lieutenant?”

“I beg your pardon?” The abrupt change of topic certainly caught the man off guard but he didn’t take long to answer. “Of course I love my wife, sir! She brings me joy--”

“Yes, I knew that you would. But wouldn’t today be a day where you would show your love towards your wife?” Schwann didn’t know how else to explain without outright saying it. 

“Showing my love towards her today? Oh! Yes, yes, now that you mentioned it, isn’t today--”  _ Finally  _ it clicked for the man. His impressive eyebrows disappeared somewhere within his helmet. “Didn’t you last year--”

“Yes.”

“But hadn’t you put out--”

“I did but I doubt that most of the brigade would follow them.” Schwann couldn’t help but smile wryly at that thought. While his brigade could drive him up the wall at times, he knew that they were ultimately good people at heart who had little trouble expressing their… respect towards him, to put it mildly. He didn’t really think he deserved the sort of feelings he apparently inspired within them but he would do them right because of it. 

“I-I see. I can understand why you do not want others to know about your movements today.” Leblanc had a determined glint in his eyes as he turned to his Captain. “You have my word that no one shall get information out of me, sir! Rest assured that I will not let them know of your whereabouts. They would have to pry them out of my lips to get anything!”

“Perhaps not that extent.” At least, he wanted to believe that they won’t go that far. “But I appreciate it nonetheless, Leblanc.”

Leblanc was positively beaming but unfortunately, the moment didn’t last long.

“Oh? Isn’t that the captain over there?”

“You’re right, it is him! We can give it to him now!”

Stiffening at the voices, Schwann noticed a few of his knights rapidly making their way over whilst carrying those atrocious packages. Just as he contemplated the merits of making a run for it, Leblanc squared his shoulders and stepped in front of him.

“Quickly and make your escape sir! I’ll hold them off!” 

That statement shouldn’t have warranted such seriousness considering the nature of it all but Schwann couldn’t help but feel a rush of gratitude towards his bumbling Lieutenant as he tried to block the group off. 

“Halt! What are you lot doing congregating around the Captain’s private chambers this early in the morning!?”

“Oh, we just wanted to give the Captain some chocolates--”

And that was his cue to get away while he still had the decorum to do so. Schwann made his hasty escape, resigned to the fact that this would probably be a normal occurrence today. 

Spirits, did he  _ despise  _ Valentine’s Day.

* * *

After narrowly avoiding a group of young knights by slipping into a conveniently empty room -- tempting as it was to just jump out of the window, it wasn’t worth besmirching his dignity. He’d spare the poor groundskeeper the heart attack, too -- Schwann pressed his ear against the door until he could no longer hear their footsteps. Even then, he risked a peek outside before deciding that it was safe for him to exit. 

While he certainly had the experience and quick feet to move about (and most definitely not sneaking around) undetected if he put the effort into it, that doesn't make it any less tiring in keeping his senses sharp and alert. 

With a quiet sigh, he swiftly continued on. Schwann had made it past the first hallway, and it seemed that he'd make it to the exit unseen. Alas, he should have known that it won't be that easy.

"Captain Schwann!" The man paused in his steps, subtly taking in a steadying breath before he turned around, perfectly poised with his arms clasped behind his back. The redheaded knight that called out to him paused a few feet away, firing off a salute that he received an acknowledging nod for. 

"Good afternoon Nicholas. I trust that you have been doing well?"

"I have sir, thank you for asking. I hope that your day has been going well too." Oh, now wasn't that a loaded question? Nicholas flashed him an easy smile. "If you do not mind me asking, what are you doing in this wing, sir?"

Schwann cleared his throat, keeping his gaze and tone impassive. "I was on my way to check up on the horses at the stable. Even if spring is around the corner, it is imperative that they be kept in optimal condition while the temperatures are still cool."

"Uh, so you're heading to the stables sir?" The knight appeared quite confused at his explanation. Regardless of his true reason, there wasn't anything wrong with a Captain checking up on the animals that were invaluable to their forces. 

"Yes, is something wrong with that?"

"O-Oh no, nothing wrong sir. It's just… aren't the stables connected to the first floor of the eastern wing? This is the western wing. And we're on the second floor."

Ah, he  _ did  _ wonder for a moment that passing by the windows revealed tree branches as opposed to the training fields. Despite his mistake, Schwann didn't let anything slip. His expression remained calm, though his eyes narrowed in an imperceptible way. 

"As I mentioned, I am making my way there. To the stables that is." Schwann stressed on his supposed destination. If any of his knights were to ask about his whereabouts, hopefully Nicholas would direct them away from him with this false trail. 

"....okay sir." A pause. "Ah, it might be my eyes playing tricks but it kind of looks like your ears are wig--"

"Good  _ day  _ Nicholas." Schwann abruptly cut him off, swiftly ending the rest of the conversation to swivel on his heel and speed walked away. The Captain of the Schwann brigade was too dignified to flee, after all. 

Now, if only he could do something about this utter betrayal of his body where his ears apparently  _ wiggle  _ of all things whenever he, ah, stretched the truth. 

* * *

Schwann did eventually make his way over to the stables after making sure that the horses were his only company. The sharp stench of kept livestock and the squishiness beneath his polished sabaton was worth it for a few moments of peace. The horses, busy as they were in doing their own horse-y things provided a non-judgemental ear towards his grievances.

Still, even he found it pathetic to camp out in the stables and have one sided conversations with the horses. Thus, it was with a wary heart that he made his way back into the castle (but not before washing off the grime from his feet. It wouldn't do for a Captain to trail dirt all over the carpets).

One of the few good things about the castle was its many similarly designed hallways. It took Schwann a few months before he could confidently make his way around without being hopelessly lost. As such, if he wanted to keep one step ahead of his persistent knights, making good use of every nook and cranny within the castle walls was his safest bet. 

Schwann went through hallways and ducked into staircases whenever he came across anyone that could tip off his pursuers. Which is to say just about anyone who knew of the Captain, even in passing. The color of his brigade's uniform was quite distinctive with its orange shades, with this day being the only time he hated how easily noticeable it was. 

He only had one unlucky encounter with a knight from a different brigade who was handing out friendship chocolates for some reason. Schwann had no choice but to accept it, counting his lucky stars that their interactions were brief before he scurried away with the small box of evil stuffed in his pocket. 

Focused as he was in deciding his next escape route, Schwann didn't notice the part of the castle he wandered into. Just as he emerged from a stairwell and into another hallway, something collided with his feet. 

The shock of pink and the little squeaky 'oof' immediately revealed their identity to him. Out of all the people to run into, he supposed this was not a bad encounter on his list. Schwann swiftly got down on one knee with his palm upturn towards her. 

"Are you alright Princess Estellise? I apologize for being unaware of my surroundings," Schwann spoke in a soft tone, his even gaze settling on the young girl. 

"N-No, it's alright Captain. I should have paid attention to where I was going, too." She accepted his hand so he gently pulled the princess up to her feet. After a cursory inspection, he was relieved to find that she was unharmed. It wouldn't have looked good on his record had he harmed the imperial princess even unintentionally. 

After she dusted off the specks of dust from her pretty dress, bright green eyes peered up at him. "Pardon me for the question Captain Schwann but might I inquire for the reasoning behind your presence here?"

For a girl just shy of a decade old, she certainly had the mannerisms and speech befitting of a member of the imperial family down pat. Schwann briefly wondered the sort of lessons she'd have gone through to become this poised and eloquent. 

"As I have found myself with a considerable amount of free time today, I made the decision to patrol the castle grounds. As it was, this section of the castle was next on the list," Schwann explained in a straight tone. Idly, he hoped that he was tall enough that the young princess would not be capable of seeing his apparently traitorous ears. 

"I see. I imagine that you would be a busy man. I apologize for taking up your time, then," Estellise responded, hands clasped together in front. 

"There is no reason for you to apologize, Your Highness. I assure you that you had not impede me in my duties." The knights Captain looked down at the pink haired girl. "Rather, I'm curious as to the reasoning behind your presence here. If I'm recalling correctly, shouldn't you be attending private lessons right now?"

At that, Estellise's cheeks adopted a color similar to her hair. Her gaze flickered downwards for a moment while Schwann waited patiently for her answer. "The private tutor could not make it today due to an emergency, so my lessons this afternoon are cancelled."

"If that is the case," he began delicately. "Should you not be in your room right now? Or at the very least be with a guard? It is unsafe for an imperial princess to move about on her own, even within the relative safety of the castle." Sometimes, there were far more dangerous foes than the monsters outside of the barrier, just waiting for an opportune moment to strike a defenseless prey.

"... I might have snuck out," Estellise whispered after a few beats of silence. She looked like the very definition of shame, yet looked up at the Captain to make her case anyway. "It is dreadful to spend the rest of my day in my room. I-I simply wished to head to the library and read the hours away until dinner time comes…"

Well, either the guard on duty was grossly negligent on his watch (to which he'd give a dressing down on later) or Princess Estellise had a knack of sneaking out of her room undetected. Now, the knight Captain part was telling him to escort her back to her room for her own safety. 

The other indescribable part made of cobbled pieces of a dead man and his vague memories of loneliness wanted to respect her wish. Schwann snapped the lid shut on that part before he had to dwell on it but its influence had slithered its way to where his heart used to be. 

"... Alright, at the very least allow me to accompany you to the library, Your Highness."

"Really? Ooh, thank you very much Captain!"

Schwann supposed the slight detour wouldn't cost him much once he received the full might of the princess's wide smile. Man, he was getting on in the years for a man approaching his thirties. He should build up a stronger resistance towards her charms before it landed him in trouble one of these days. 

While he kept his eyes peeled for familiar faces, the walk towards the castle's large library went relatively smooth. Schwann had to keep his strides short so that the princess could match his pace, not to mention appear interested with appropriate nods here and there when she listed down the books she wanted to read. 

"We have arrived, Your Highness," Schwann announced once the wooden double doors came into view. It was a shame that they had to part ways now for the princess was sharing some interesting facts that she read up about his erstwhile company from the stables earlier. 

"O-Oh, I see. Thank you very much for accompanying me Captain. I appreciate it." The way her whole countenance just dropped at the prospect of being left alone once more had Schwann closing his eyes for a moment. One of these days, he had to build up his defense against those sad puppy-like eyes. Today was not one of them. 

Thinking swiftly, the slight weight in his pocket gave him an idea. Dropping to his knee once again, Schwann fished out the box of chocolates. It worked in his favor when a quick check revealed that the box had no specific label and that he had her interest. 

Heh. While he personally despised them, he knew that very few children could resist the allure of chocolates, imperial princesses notwithstanding.

"This is for you, Your Highness." Schwann did his best to work his underutilized facial muscles in forming what he hoped was a warm smile, adding in a wink for good measure. "It'll be our little secret. We haven't seen each other today, right?"

Princess Estellise looked between him and the box of chocolates, her thoughts clear on her face. Eventually, tiny hands grabbed hold of the chocolates. 

"Yes, I suppose we hadn't," she giggled, tucking away the box in some pocket he didn't know existed on her dress. "Thank you Captain Schwann who I haven't seen today."

He rose to full height, offering her one last smile. "Your welcome Princess Estellise that I did not come across today." 

With a little curtsy, Estellise slipped into the library where she would spend the rest of the afternoon reading and partaking in chocolates. In a few hours, he would send someone to inform her guard to check the library before they could panic over the missing princess. Of course, that guard would get reprimanded for his apparent negligence but Schwann had other things to worry about. Namely, finding more spots to hide until his stressful day came to an end. 

(It was a little while later that he'd come to the realization that he had essentially bribed the imperial princess with chocolates to keep his whereabouts a secret. Sure, there were aspects about this action that a Captain should feel more disconcerted over but in Schwann's defense, he'd done more questionable things under the guise of following orders and he got to dump the unwanted chocolates to someone that would actually appreciate it. 

So, worth it?)

* * *

By the time orange splashed across the sky, Schwann was a bit grumpy. He didn't get the chance to eat all day since he was too busy dodging his knights, and that being on high alert chipped away at his mental energy. It felt like he had just returned from a high stakes mission except there was no actual result to be proud over. 

Well, perhaps not being saddled by a mountain of chocolates counted towards something. Schwann would rather choose to face off against enemies than having to eat those sickeningly sweet things. Some might find that dramatic but it was obvious that they had never been rendered with an upset stomach and hours of feeling generally ill after consuming those evil treats out of social niceties. 

He was at the home stretch, at least. Schwann would rather forgo dinner tonight and simply head on to sleep than take his chances on grabbing a quick supper from the mess hall. Allowing someone to send him a meal could open up an opportunity that he'd rather avoid giving. 

Quietly, the Captain made his way back to his private quarters. Schwann was so looking forward to laying on his bed and forget that this day ever happened. There was one thing that he forgot to take into consideration, unfortunately.

The Schwann brigade's persistence and determination was quite legendary among the ranks, even more so if it involved their Captain. Schwann at times forgot just how determined they can get once they had a collective goal to reach. It just so happened that their goal today was to show their love and appreciation towards their Captain. 

Just as he placed his palm atop the door handle--

"Captain, there you are!" 

_ Oh _ . 

"Hey Captain! We've been searching everywhere for you!"

_ Oh no.  _

Schwann almost mechanically turned around, watching with mounting horror at the group of eager knights. All of them had something colorfully packaged in hand. 

And all of them were making a beeline towards him. 

The next few minutes went by in this sort of hazy blur. Schwann barely recovered a semblance of his composure before his arms were laden with boxes of chocolates. Some were small, others came in larger sizes. There were satin and cloth ribbons, different scents of perfumes and lilacs -- how on earth did he even know what a lilac smelled like? -- and all sorts of flowers mixing together to make this sickeningly sweet smell that choked his senses. 

He couldn't act like some part of him was dying inside, though. Schwann dug his heels and stood up straight, offering "Thank you for this kind gesture" and "I shall gratefully accept this" here and there. His knights were beaming at him like they didn't know the severity of their crimes towards a sweets hater like him. He returned their smiles with a faint one of his own. 

Schwann can't find it in him to get mad at them. 

(...Okay maybe just a little).

By the time they freed their Captain from their loving clutches, Schwann made his way inside his room, dumped the pile of chocolates onto his desk before unceremoniously falling onto his bed. Heaving out a huge sigh, he scrubbed his face, looking a tad defeated. 

He thought he could get away. Now he had chocolates that had to be consumed one way or another. Schwann couldn't just throw them out because as much as he hated getting them, it'd be rude when his knights had only pure intentions in gifting it to him. Eating it all was out of the question. He didn't want death via chocolates to be on his tombstone. Even he found that to be pretty pathetic. 

The idea of selling them came to mind but he doubted he'd find buyers for second hand chocolates. Schwann also couldn't just gift them to someone else, lest he'd create some sort of misunderstanding with his intentions behind it. Leaving it all in his room to forget about it until next year would make his room a feeding ground for ants, and he  _ so  _ didn't want an infestation in his safe haven. 

Thus the root of the problem came down to where could he send the chocolates too? And to whom? He'd need people who would not question its origins and wouldn't be the sort to gossip about it with others...

Wait, he  _ did  _ know people who fit his criteria! Schwann sprang up, seized with the desire to rid himself of these accursed gifts of love once and for all. An almost manic grin crossed his features.

First and foremost, he had to call for Leblanc. There was a special mission in mind he had for his Lieutenant…

* * *

They were nursing a few drinks and swapping some funny stories from the past before Raven brought up the tale of Captain Schwann getting chocolates every year for Valentine's Day and how he got rid of it. 

"Wait. So you're telling me," Yuri began, looking up from his mug to stare at him in disbelief. "That the anonymous chocolates the Lower Quarters got for Valentine's Day every year since I was a teen was actually the ones  _ you  _ got?"

"I told ya, it ain't me! It was fer that schmuck Schwann fer whatever reason!"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever you say old man. Can't believe Schwann was that popular among his knights to get chocolates from them every year."

Raven snorted around his drink, muttering, "Trust me, I can't believe it too."

**Author's Note:**

> There you have it! I hope this was an enjoyable read! I'd love to know what you think about this concept and whether you'd like to see more shenanigans with this brigade in the future! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
